IT'S amazing what kind of tests cars are put through these days both before they are launched and in everyday life.

Before we get our hands on new cars there are of course miles of testing on different kinds of roads and there are the hugely important NCAP safety tests as well as durability tests on individual components.

But of course what really matters to people is whether the car is suitable for their needs.

If it is a convertible does it leak and does it turn heads?

If it is a sports car does its performance match the billing and if it is a family car does it have the facilities to keep small people safe and in comfort?

But I have now discovered a new test which every car I drive is being put through at the moment - how much gardening gear can it carry? Is it suitable for regular trips to the tip, how many bags of manure will fit in the boot and how practical is the seating layout to transport a new set of gardening tools?

And it's all down to my new acquisition - an allotment which has needed more than a few hours of tending to get it ready for the 2008 crop.

So it was down to the Vauxhall Zafira to lay its credentials firmly on the line when it was faced with the first week of clearing, and one of the tallest tasks asked by any gardener - how long a garden cane will this car accommodate?

Out went some of my usual assessments of an MPV of this kind.

The boot was large enough for a good sized shopping trip and yes the seats in the back looked comfortable enough for a family.

But what I wanted to know was how easy it was going to be to park it neatly at my new plot of land - and how crazy was I to consider the purchase of 8ft garden canes to prepare for my runner beans?

Well thankfully the Zafira got top marks for everything - even those rather long canes which fitted inside Britain's best-selling MPV with ease leaving me with a smug look rather than the prospect of becoming one of those people whose shopping is rather larger than their transport.

The Flex7 seating means that the rear seats fold flat into the floor leaving more space for easy carrying capacity and the middle row moves easily to accommodate some rather strangely shaped cargoes.

The vehicle was perfect to nip down to the car boot sale and secure some quality second hand gardening tools and with the seats down there was ample space for everything a new allotment holder needs on her plot and in her shed.

Even the new gas stove and gas canister and a bin full of compost travelled in style this week.

But of course not every trip in the Zafira was to or from the allotment - and the local motorways and country roads gave me plenty of opportunity to explore what else the Zafira has to offer.

At first the rather sharp clutch and brakes took a little getting used to but even after a good few hundred miles I still couldn't warm to the rather unusually shaped handbrake - but a minor detail in the Zafira which has this year undergone a minor facelift with some new trim and styling changes.

And of course the extra chrome detailing on the radiator grille, new foglamp surrounds and chrome detailing on the front headlamp lenses certainly turned a few heads on the allotment.

Let's just hope the crops are as impressive!